I Feel Weird ...

... posting so much recently about weight loss. It feels a little narcissistic. But it's what I'm living, and hopefully - if anyone ever sees all this - it's helpful to some one.

Truth, Failure, and Hypocrisy

I mentioned previously that unpopularity or lack of acceptance does not make a truth any less true. Similarly, my inability to live according to what is right, or my hypocrisy (advocating something while living the opposite), doesn't make what is right any less right. It does diminish my credibility, however, and it may also hinder others from recognizing that that something really is right.

Losing Weight Evenly ... Doesn't Happen

Don't let the title discourage you. Losing weight happens, just not evenly. Just be prepared for some downs, ups and some plateaus.

It's not great analogy, but the human body is sort of like a really complex machine. Food provides fuel and building materials. Our bodies are "programmed" to conserve fuel and use it efficiently. If you eat too much, your body stores that extra fuel for future use. It's called "fat". If you eat wa-a-a-ay too little, your body will soon go into starvation mode, slowing itself down so as to use its stored fuel more slowly. That latter can affect weight loss progress - there is such a thing as too much of a good thing (the good thing, in this case being eating less food).

Adding exercise to your routine will help you lose weight, significantly. But it also complicates the process. The exercise burns extra fuel, drawing even more on the stored fuel (fat). But, over time, your body also builds up the muscles you've been exercising. Stronger muscles is a good thing, but the added muscle tissue affects the rate of your weight loss.

So losing weight is not a simple matter "starving" yourself as much as you can stand and burning more fuel faster. You're going to do that to some degree, but more than just that. Then there's one further annoyance. Each of us knows where we want to lose the weight, but our bodies don't necessarily follow those priorities. Eventually, over time, yes, but in the near term, not so much. So "padding" may be lost from places where we don't think any needs to be lost. Be patient (and maybe have a sense of humor). It does get sorted out, and you do eventually lose what you're trying to work off.

A Tale of Three Hammers

Three carpenters each had their hammers ...

One carpenter didn't take care of it. He left it in the weather, where the sun faded and cracked the handle and the rain rusted it. He used it some, but the deterioration made it less usable, and unusable long before its time.

One carpenter kept his polished and oiled. He didn't do much else with it, but it was a beautiful hammer.

One carpenter took care of his as he used it. Eventually it wore out from usage, but it served him long and well.

Our bodies are our "hammers". They are intended to be used. They won't last forever, but if we take care of our bodies they usually will serve us well.

True Beauty

Humans are very tied to their senses. We think that what we see, hear, feel, taste and smell is "real". And it often is. But where character and beauty are concerned, outward appearance - what can be seen - is a distraction at "best", and potentially deceiving. With human beings, real beauty and character come from the inside and is expressed outward. "Seeing" true beauty in some one takes time and getting to know that person.